The News for those few who play real croquet!                                October 23, 2004

Ben and Brandon Lasher, virtually the entire field of the 2004 Tour Championship.

Brandon wins major in one of the lowest turnouts ever!

The 2004 IMC season ended with a thud at the final major, the IMC Tour Championship. After multiple delays, the event finally occurred. However, despite it being a major and with Player of the Year up for grabs, the event has only four players attend. We can thank the Kerry campaign and other workplaces for draining the field.

The event started at Mike's course in his garage. The players enjoyed the pee smell as they went into Mike's backyard. The second shot, the Tilt shot, separated the field. Ben was in a clear lead with Mike and Steve close behind. Brandon was far behind.

The event stayed close during the heavy rain until the end stick. The end stick was inside a rubber inner tube in Mike's cement garage. This allowed for much rolling down the street. Brandon, far behind, was able to catch up and hit the difficult end stick first. Mike hit it second, Steve third, and Ben last.

Because of the rain, Steve withdrew from the event. Yes, the major would end with three players. The second round occurred at Alton Baker Park and Brandon jumped to a huge lead claiming first place again. Ben got stuck on the ninth wicket allowing Mike to claim second place. Ben would not be able to win the major and thus discussed withdrawing. The math showed that only with Ben playing could Mike tie to win the major, so play continued. The event ended at the Lasher course.

Mike jumped to a huge lead and claimed first. He needed Ben to beat Brandon and force a playoff. Ben was close and tried a power shot to pass Brandon. Despite epic theme music, Ben hit it two inches. Brandon was able to cautiously hit the end stick near the shed in a rocky area. Brandon had achieved his dream and won the Tour Championship! Mike finished second overall and claimed Player of the Year. Ben finished third overall and the quitter Steve finished in fourth.

The league celebrated the sixth season end with a hot dog dinner. Hopefully, next year we will have a few more people attend important events.

2004 logo, we hardly knew ye.

By Brandon Lasher

The 2004 season was a year of some growth for the IMC. After a 2003 season of virtually six players, the league had some returning stars for 2004. David Ure returned to frequent playing a decent five events including hosting two. However, the biggest return was Nathan Cole. Nathan had been in a virtual retirement in 2003, but returned big in 2004. The start of the season showed he was not rusty.

Kristy won the season-opening Spam Open but didn't return for play again. After this occurred, Nathan went on a roll as he won his fourth straight Frog Tournament, the new event Steve-Aid, the famous Orange Shirt Classic and stole the We Have No Lives from David at the end stick. Only the blemish of a third at Mike's Marvel slowed Nathan's early season dominance.

The year had many memorable moments. The No Lives had the league lost and separated across ocean jetties. The Sports Day Festival had the first ever play inside a house as the Wolfs' home was not destroyed. The Spam Classic had three players (Nathan, Steve, and Alena) give up on an end stick and decided placing by paper, rock, scissors. The Spam Invitational was the first event played completely at night.

The later part of the year saw Ben and Mike return to power. Ben was able to win the Mike's Marvel and the Doubles Championship with William. Mike was able to win both tournaments at David's course, win the Pez Invitational at a poorly designed Wolfs course, and beat Steve Unfred in a rematch of 2003's Scott Balthrop Memorial Tournament final. Mike signed the famous chair in 2004 and Nathan was beat by Steve again in the semi-finals.

We would have had an epic final major, The Tour Championship, with Ben, Nathan, and Mike fighting for Player of the Year. However, Nathan no showed and only four players showed up total. Brandon won his only tournament of year and Mike clinched the Player of the Year with his strong finish.

Thus ended Ironman Croquet 2004. It was a year of Nathan domination, bad end sticks, a new event, and virtually no new players. Will the league build on its success in 2005? We shall see.